


Patience or Patients?

by themisguidedgh0st



Series: Waiting Patiently [1]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series), Carmilla - All Media Types
Genre: Another fluff bomb, Asexual Will!, Carmilla is broody, Doctor/Nurse, Everyone is queer!, F/F, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-08-08 14:00:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7760560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themisguidedgh0st/pseuds/themisguidedgh0st
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU where Carmilla is the doctor running Silas Care for the Elderly and has a gigantic crush on Laura, who is a nurse.</p>
<p>"That blush earlier that could light up a city? Well maybe you should start investing in some stocks there because now, it could light up the entire land of Europe and Asia. But you also didn't care because you haven't laughed this freely with another human being in quite some time."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Babe, it's like 6:45 in the morning. Didn't you need to be at work by 7:30?" Danny Lawrence, your beautiful, tall ginger girlfriend breathed into your neck hotly.

6:45

Much too early for—

6:45! You were going to be late for work and as a nurse in residency, that couldn't happen. Dr. Karnstein would glare at you right into your own grave. You shot right out of bed, stark naked from last night's extra-curricular activities, while Danny grumbled and moaned next to you.

Grabbing the first set of black pants and white button shirt you could find, you ran straight for the shower.

All you could think about was the look on Ms. Karnstein's face if you were late. Those smoldering eyes seemed to know everything about you and it seemed like she was waiting for you to make one mistake so she could glare and scream at you till you collapsed into a puddle of tears and dashed hopes.

You parked a bit half-hazard and ran straight out of the car towards the building where you worked. Silas Care for the Elderly.

The name still made you smile because even though your father was afraid of you working all the way in Styria, you were achieving what you wanted to be. You were helping people. You loved to help people.

This care was the number one care in all of Austria and it was led by none other than Dr. Carmilla Karnstein, your ruthless and fearless boss.

Running into the reception area, you spotted Lola Perry, your best friend of the last several months. Perry was a godsend for you. She was always available whenever you needed to rant about how annoying Dr. Karnstein was, or gossip about the patients. Perry had already finished her residency a year before you did.

"Hey, Laura, you look a little flustered sweetheart. A rushed morning today?" Perry asked you, sliding a sign-in sheet across the counter so you could sign in.

Huff. "Yeah, Perr...Really...." Huff. "Rushed. Danny. Last night..." Loud Exhale. Huff "No sleep. Time?"

"7:14 dear. It's fine, you're early, as usual. Your hair is still a little wet though. Careful about that in this chilly weather."

You nod, unable to speak due to your loud exhaling. You walk around behind the counter to where Perry is and gather all the patient files needed for the day as well as Dr. Karnstein, Dr. Will Luce, Dr. Morgan, and Dr. Belmonde's case files and schedules for the day.

You update the schedule on the computer and open up the communal email server so you can remind the rest of the staff of the mandatory meeting held by Dr. Karnstein this morning.

"Oh hey, Laura! Man, you're still so hot, especially when your hair is all wet and stuff. Oh, by the way, I saw your friend Natalie at the club last night and man she was so good with her ha--"

And that is where you usually stop listening to Kirsch's monologues about his late night conquests. While Kirsch was a good nurse and really popular with the elderly folk at Silas Care, he was also a bit of a party nut. Kirsch and you are in the same residency program and you often saw each other in college.

Kirsch started to hang around you when he realized you were also in a nursing program and you understood Beowulf better than he did.

Tuning out Kirsch expertly, you managed to send the email before 7:20, and had a moment to breathe.

Kirsch was still running his mouth when Dr. Belmonde walked in.

Mattie Belmonde is the kind of  woman you would imagine to be a model. She was a beautiful woman from head to toe and her smile seemed to be able light up dark alley ways.

But your friend LaFontaine always said to never mess with Dr. Belmonde because while her smile was angelic, anyone who crossed her or angered her seemed to never come back.

Dr. Belmonde walked in, telling Kirsch to sign her in as she walked towards the meeting room.

While Kirsch was busy with the sign in pad, you noticed Dr. Belmonde give Perry a shy smile, a _genuine smile._ While you were shocked, it seemed that Perry was blushing furiously.

_Something interesting must be going on there._

"Hello, nursing family! How are we today? How was last night, Kirsch? Was she any good?" If you had even a hundredth of straightness in you, you'd be sorely in love with William Luce. He was the son of Lilita Morgan, founder of Silas Care. Will was a top notch doctor, almost as good as Dr. Karnstein and his own mother, Dr. Morgan and was even more popular than Kirsch with the patients.

Interestingly enough, Will was asexual. You had also never seen him with any kind of partner either, but you weren't about to assume he was aromantic.

Smiling, you greeted Will enthusiastically as he signed in. He clapped Kirsch on the back before heading the same way Mattie did for the meeting.

"Aw, no Jeep, don't let Robbie near the snack cupboard. We can't clean up the mess every time... I know, I know, but maybe just read him something in the afternoon and let him take a nap. It'll serve you both some good...Ok...bye...love you too." LaFontaine, a long time friend of both you and child-hood friend of Perry walked in while talking on the phone with their boyfriend J.P Armitage.

Dr. LaF grinned at you and Perry and signed in, before hanging up on J.P and conversing with you and Perry.

Looking over at the time, you see that it's 7:25. "Hey, Kirsch, LaF come on. Get to the meeting room. Dr. Karnstein will be here any minute!"

 You usher Kirsch and LaF to the meeting room before grabbing the case files and papers needed for Dr. Karnstein and running along after them.

Dr. Karnstein walks in 5 minutes late to her own meeting with her doctor's coat on, leather pants that seemed to be glued on her legs and low heel boots, a look that is by no means conforming to any other doctor look in the world.

However, you learned very quickly not to comment about anything to her besides patient cases.

"Let's get this damn meeting over with, we have people to take care of. Dr. Luce and Dr. Belmonde, you will be needed at two different locations outside the hospital today, so don't get comfy with that chair, Will. Mattie, Mr. Schmidt needs you to check his lower back again to make sure his spinal cord is in line. Explain to him that a 78 year old man playing Cricket is not the best way to spend his time."

She pauses to look at you.

"Laura, hand Mattie, the case file on Mr. Schmidt. I need an intern!"

No one moved. You decided to look for Mr. Schmidt's file and found it at the bottom

A meek hand raised slightly "Uhm...I'm Mel, I'm a new inter--"

Dr. Karnstein cut her off "Yes, you! Melon! Go with Mattie, do your interning with her. " Mel looked positively terrified as you handed her the file.

"Don't worry about this so much. It's just the morning" you whispered in her ear, hoping to sway her fears. Mel shook harder. Mattie nodded at Dr. Karnstein's command and took the file from Mel's quivering hands to examine Mr. Schmidt's vitals.

Carmilla continued in her angry tone "Kirsch! What's happening with Mrs. Wilderstein? Laura had to pull her out of a bus stop! We do _not_ let the elderly staying patients out of the hospital on their own magical whims!"

Kirsch is terrified. He speaks in monosyllabic utterances before Will comes to his rescue smoothly "Come on, Carmilla. Kirsch has a million things to do other than to focus on Mrs. Wilderstein's whereabouts. However, I understand that the situation is quite serious. We can't have her walking under a bus. I'll attend to the matter before I leave for outside care today. Kirsch, come with me."

Dr. Karnstein grunted in approval. "That's all for now. Get out. Do your job. Don't kill people. Don't kill yourself."

No one moved. Karnstein raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow.

"OUT!"

Within 45 seconds, you were scrambling for the remaining files on the desk.

Softly, she said "Laura you're with me today, not on reception. I have to see Mr. Mueller about his hernia. I want to make sure he's getting better."

You frown "Dr. Karnstein, that isn't on the schedule today. You just had an appointment with him the other day. Surely his situation couldn't have gotten much-"

Dr. Karnstein cut you off,  "Cool it, cupcake nurse, I know my own schedule thank you very much. I just need to make sure that it isn't worsening. Besides, Mr. Mueller is an in-care patient. Surely a little detail wouldn't detain you from your 'oh so busy schedule' would it, Miss Hollis?"

The way Dr. Karnstein raised her eyebrow in your direction made your stomach tumble and roll its way around, making you slightly nauseous.

You quickly gathered the remaining files, quietly grumbling about being called a "cupcake nurse" and followed Dr. Karnstein and her leather pants out of the meeting room.

Usually days at Silas Care were extremely busy. Most of the time, you were so busy running around making sure everyone was taken care of, you didn't even realize that you hadn't eaten since 7:30 and it was now 4 in the evening.

But there was nothing in the world you would trade for this job even with all of the quirky staff and the weird patients, Silas Care was your place in the world.

But then again, every day you usually had about 10 texts from Danny asking you where you were even though _she knew_ that you were working and that texting you wouldn't really help because you were busy. Being busy was seemingly a foreign concept to Danny Lawrence.

It was almost 9:30 pm. You were very tired and you just managed to finish giving Mrs. Schneider her medication and putting her to sleep.

You walk out to the reception desk to sign out when you hear "Nurse Hollis! I need you for a second."

Dr. Karnstein whispered urgently. You noticed the fact that she whispered rather than just outright said your name.

_She didn't want to disturb the patients. How thoughtful of her._ Usually Kirsch and other doctors and nurses speak at normal tones and Laura gets annoyed because the patients might lose their sleep.

You hurry over to Dr. Karnstein. She takes you into her office "I need to go over some patient case files with you and check over your spreadsheet of the data of the in-care patients for the last week. It'll take about a half-an-hour. Is that okay?"

She asks that last part so softly that you couldn't help but nod your assent. You keep your phone on silent but look at the constant stream of messages that come from Danny as Dr. Karnstein works further into the night.

Dr. Karnstein isn't wrong. It takes about half an hour to finish up the spreadsheet work, but now your free from that burden for the next two weeks.

You notice that your both walking towards the elevator "Do you park your car in the lot here, Dr. Karnstein?"

She looks up at you in surprise as if she's surprised you're speaking to her. She nods and is about to speak when a loud voice interrupts you "Hey, Nurse Hollis! Dr. Karnstein, my own prodigy, my glittering diamond among stones." Dr. Morgan, Will's mother, walks toward you two.

Dr. Karnstein grumbles before jabbing the 'down' button on the elevator before Dr. Morgan places a hand on both your shoulders.

"I'll be having a retirement party soon. It would mean a lot if both of you could come! Please do! Carmilla, I mean it" The last part was said sweetly, but as if something would happen to Carmilla if she didn't go.

You grin and graciously accept the invitation. Dr. Karnstein looks at you curiously before nodding also without saying much.

The elevator dings and opens and Dr. Morgan walks away, leaving you and Dr. Karnstein together again.

"You said yes pretty quickly there, cupcake Hollis"

You ignore the nickname "I mean, parties are fun, right? Champagne, friends, toasts, fun." You smile while saying it. Parties are fun.

Dr. Karnstein smiles softly "I was served champagne at the first party I ever attended"

"You make sound as if that were a hundred years ago"

"It feels like that"

"How long has it been since you've been to a party, Dr. Karnstein?" She simply grinned her answer and for a second your heart stopped. You'd never seen that grin before and for some reason you wanted to see it a lot more.

You sigh "I'd like to go, but then I'd have to leave Danny because she can't stand the doctor scene"

Dr. Karnstein looked at you curiously "She doesn't like doctors? Doesn't sound like a smart way to live."

You shrug. You think it's a bit awkward to discuss your girlfriend with your boss.

Dr. Karnstein bites her lip. The elevator's a couple floors from the garage. "So go with me then."

What?

You swivel your head so fast, you're surprised you don't have whiplash. "With you?"

Dr. Karnstein bites her lip again.

Ding! The elevator doors open. Neither of you move. "Well, yeah. I don't have a date. I'd have to go because it's my own damn mother's retirement party and your ginger apple tree of a girlfriend doesn't li--"

"WAIT, MOTHER?" Your pretty sure your voice echoes around the entire garage. The elevator doors close again. Neither of you move.

Dr. Karnstein blinks "Well yeah...You didn't know? Will is my half-brother. A lot of people say we have similar feature--"

You blurt "I'd love to go with you, Dr. Karnstein.". A rare blush comes across your face. You feel it, but it's too dark in the elevator for anyone but you to notice.

* * *

 

You didn't realize that telling Danny about a work event would cause this much of a fight.

"GOD DAMN IT LAURA, YOU'RE NEVER HOME. YOU'RE ALWAYS AT WORK FIXING OLD PEOPLE WHO ARE BOUND TO BE FRIGGIN DEAD ANYWAYS. AND ON TOP OF THAT, I'M ALWAYS WAITING FOR YOU AT HOME. YOU DON'T RESPOND TO MY TEXTS, I'M ALWAYS WONDERING WHERE YOU ARE--"

To this you respond indignantly "I'M AT WORK DANNY, WHERE THE HELL ELSE WOULD I BE? I HAVE TO FINISH MY RESIDENCY, DANNY!"

She continues with her twisted logic, unfazed by your interruption "DAMNIT LAURA, YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH YOUR BOSS? WHEN I'M STILL YOUR GODDAMN GIRLFRIEND, WAITING, ALWAYS WAITING--"

At this point you've had enough "WELL THEN MAYBE YOU JUST SHOULDN'T BE MY GODDAMN GIRLFRIEND THEN"

You're both breathing heavily and just when you've realized what you've said Danny says "Fine! Sleep on the couch tonight! Then leave!"

For some reason, you don't argue. You do exactly that. Danny doesn't speak to you for the rest of the night.

And for some other odd reason, even though you were on the lumpy couch, that night of sleep was one of the best nights of sleep you had gotten in weeks.

However, the morning after that wasn't so nice.

By the time you left for work, you had a small gash on the side of your head from a flower pot that Danny definitely wasn't aiming at you for and you were very tired.

"LAURA, MAN DID YOU GET MUGGED, WHAT'S WITH YOU?" Kirsch, the man child walked up to you and examined your head while yelling at the top of your voice.

You growled at him after swatting his big hand away "No, Kirsch, I hit my head somewhere, that's all. Can you please leave now? I'm busy. Like you should be"

Kirsch looked mildly offended before grinning, ruffling your hair and walking away.

Perry looked a little concerned and asked "Another fight with Danny? Did she throw this at you? Because if she d--"

You cut her off "Apparently she didn't aim it at me. It just so happened to be directly thrown at me by someone who was a discus champion."

"Miss Hollis? A word, in my office, please." The strict, formal tone of Carmilla Karnstein did nothing to appease your massive, growing headache.

However, the minute you were in there, Dr. Karnstein grabbed your chin with her fingers and turned it to the side before thumbing the gash.

You opened your mouth but not a word would come out. It was like you were stuck. Without another word, Dr. Karnstein re cleaned your wound and bandaged it properly, trashing the poor job you did this morning. Then she lifted your chin to look at her.

"I can't have my nurses bring in their home life to their work. If Danny's causing you problems then you need to work it out with her. You have serious bags under your eyes. Get some sleep. Work it out with her. Ok?"

 You nod, unable to speak. Karnstein sighs and lets you go to work for the rest of your shift.

A few hours later, your finally able to get back in the working groove and you've successfully managed to team up with Dr. Luce and give Mr. Fischer his medication for his hip replacement. After a well deserved high five you hear Perry's voice on the loudspeaker:

"Nurse Hollis, please come to reception. Nurse Hollis, come to reception please." You rush over, hoping nothing was severely wrong with any of your patients.

But when you arrived, there was Danny Lawrence, all 5'7" of her with a bouquet of roses in her hands, with a large sign that said "I'm sorry" in her messy scrawl.

You sighed as you remembered Dr. Karnstein's words " _I can't have my nurses bring in their home life to their work_ ". You are so in trouble for this. Danny must have assumed you were still angry with her because her shoulders deflated.

You were mad at her. Because she threw a flower pot at your head and also because she couldn't even apologize properly. You _hated_ roses. You despised them. You thought they smelled like crap and they seemed so fake because everyone loves roses.

The whole universe knows you hate roses. Even Perry and Kirsch stood off to the side frowning at the roses in Danny's hand.

_But she was trying._ You agreed to that extent. Then you came to your senses "Danny...you know I hate roses and why would--" She frowned "But everyone loves roses". You raise your eyebrows and continue anyway "Why would you bring in our problems to my work? I can't do this right now, okay? We'll talk later."

Danny frowned further "I'm here now though. With flowers and a sign! You like this stuff don't you? I'm sorry, Laura. I love you, come home."

You sigh, your headache growing larger by the second and anger coming at full force "Da--"

"What the frilly hell is this?" You gulp audibly. Kirsch and Perry pale and Danny looks downright confused. Dr. Karnstein walks out into the clear.

"Are you Laura's girlfriend?" The sheer commanding force of her voice causes Danny to step back even though she's about a foot taller than the doctor.

Dr. Karnstein notices the flowers and the sign. She turns on you "What exactly did I say this morning about bringing home matters into work? Miss Hollis. Deal with this. Immediately, or you can forget about coming into work tomorrow."

You mouth was agape. Danny stood there, clueless as Dr. Karnstein stormed past, ruffling papers in her wake. Danny was clueless. She was always clueless. "Damn it Danny, go home. Just go home. I need time to think about this."

Danny was honestly confused "But I said sorry, so why are you being so d--"

Perry jumped in, "Miss Lawrence. Always a pleasure to, see you out!" She led Danny away from you to the front door and you decided to finish your shift for the day.

Maybe you wouldn't go home at the end of your shift. Maybe you'd take a few extra ones today.

While you were bone tired from being on your feet all day and dealing with the patients, you didn't really have anywhere to go and you definitely didn't want to see Danny, even if your stuff was there.

You sigh, taking a seat at the empty, dim reception desk. It was 11:00 PM. Perry and Kirsch had gone home hours ago and you were pretty sure you were the last person in the building besides security and the night shift nurses you weren't really friends with.

You found yourself staring at Dr. Karnstein's office door. There was a light on that you could see from under the door. You couldn't really explain why you were walking towards the door, but you were. You knocked.

"Enter" you could hear her faint voice from inside. You enter in slowly, making sure to close the door behind you.

Dr. Karnstein was working intently on some paperwork. She paused to look up at you and something changed in her demeanor. Her frown disappeared and her face got slightly red. "Nurse Hollis. Can I help you?" Her face changed to confusion. "What are you doing here? You should have been home at 5 today? It's nearly 11pm"

You stammer out a few syllables before taking a new breath and saying "I wanted to apologize for earlier. I just...I broke up with Danny last night and I...she's just...I ...it won't happen again. I'm sorry"

Dr. Karnstein put down her highlighter and stood. "You broke up with her? Why?" You ignore the little bubble of thought that says it isn't any of her business before launching into an explanation of what happened the night before and this morning and this afternoon at work.

You'd have never thought she was such a patient listener. She looked at you, captivated by you. By the end you were both blushing intently.

She cleared her throat and offered "Well, I don't want you staying around here either. Why don't you come and have dinner with me at my place? You can stay the night and tomorrow when you've had some sleep and your head is cleared you can figure out your next steps."

Your jaw must be traveling across the Nile river somewhere. Dr. Karnstein bites her lip "I mean if you wa--" You interrupt her for the second time in your life "I would love to, Dr. Karnstein."

She smiles "Carmilla. You don't have to call me Dr. all the time. I'm well aware of my profession, Laura."

Your blush could light up an entire city.

* * *

 

So it turns out that Carmilla's company is the most fun you've had since you were in high school. She was funny, she was sweet in person and she had the craziest patient stories. You seemed to never be able to stop talking with Carmilla. You talked about your over protective father, the unfortunate death of your mother, college with a man-child Kirsch hanging around you all the time.

Carm was even fluent in deeply philosophical readings of Camus and Kant. She was amazing, you decided. She was truly amazing and you were so lucky to have been invited here.

That blush earlier that could light up a city? Well maybe you should start investing in some stocks there because now, it could light up the entire land of Europe and Asia. But you also didn't care because you haven't laughed this freely with another human being in quite some time.

Both your plates were empty, and _yes_ Carmilla was an amazing cook. You didn't even want to breathe while eating her food.

Now, you were both sipping red wine and talking late into the night. You laughed at yet another one of her patient stories.

After another sip you said "Aw man, Danny hated when I told her stories like that. She always said old people creep her out."

Carmilla said nothing to this at first. She sipped her wine and looks at you. "Well, I think she was really stupid to let someone like you go. If you were mine, I'd never ever..."

Suddenly her lips were on yours and boy were they welcome. Carm's lips were warm and soft and electrifying and calming all in one and for some reason your heart was beating its way straight out of your chest and ---

Wait.

Danny. Home. You just left her. You guys aren't even fully, properly broken up yet.

You pull away, reluctantly, regret of the wrong kind written all over your face. When Carm opens her eyes, her face goes through so many emotions and you just want to wrap your arms around her and tell her your sorry over and over again and you want to cry.

Eventually she says "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I'm so so sorry."

You say nothing. You cannot. She looks at you with a new mask on. You can't really read through this one and that pains you a little bit.

She clears her throat and picks up both plates before saying "I'll prepare the bed in the guest room for you. You can sleep there tonight...if you still want to" and leaving for the kitchen.

You sit at her table in silence playing over the last few moments in your head, wondering where the wonderful evening had gone.


	2. Roses Schmoses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part two of this little bit.  
> This is the last part for this piece but for the Waiting Patiently Series, I'll be uploading bits of the universe

You had planned to make an early escape because of the way the evening had gone. You had set up an alarm for yourself at 5:30, so you'd be out of Carmilla's at 6:30 at least. But the bed was so heavenly and you were so tired what, with all the running around from patient to patient, dodging Danny's attacks at your character and your job and trying to maintain control over your hectic life.

The bed was so heavenly. Without a second thought, your  sleep-hazed mind dismissed the alarm from your phone and snuggled in with the pillow.

The smell of Coffee woke you up. Sitting up, you realized that it was much later than 5:30 and now you'd have to face Dr. Karnstein in the morning. You played back the events of the previous night in your head again and groaned.

Why Danny? Why'd you have to think of her? Shaking your head, you get out of the bed and set it.

You didn't go down to the kitchen immediately. You brushed your teeth, you changed back into the clothes from yesterday. You thought about how Dr. Karnstein must be a morning person. She must be so alert and focused in the mornings.

After all, she always demands a morning meeting and staff have to be at their posts by no later than 8 am. Giving yourself a small smile, you head down to the kitchen.

The sight surprises you. Dr. Karnstein seems to be a lump of human and dark locks in a power-puff girls pajama set. Her arms are folded beneath her head and she's groaning.

You change the pressure on your feet and a floorboard creaks slowly. You blush and as she lifts her head to look at you, you blurt "Good morning, Dr. Karnstein!"

Dr. Karnstein blinks at you. If you thought she was a vision in a doctor's coat and black skin tight leather pants, she certainly was a heavenly vision in power-puff girl themed pajamas and no make-up visible on her face.

Wait.

She hasn't said anything. Was she _expecting_ you to leave? Oh. Damn it, why didn't you wake up at 5:30?

"Good morning Hollis." The greeting lost its way to you because you were freaking out about how to leave graciously.

Dr. Karnstein spoke again "I thought you'd left at 5:30 or so..." You blush harder stammering your way through an explanation.

"Well...ye-I ... I mean, well yeah that was when the...the...alarm was set, but then your bed, it was so comfy and I hadn't slept in a while and man those pillows are heavenly and they smell like happiness if you know, happiness was a thing you could smell and those sheets were so comfy, and do you mind telling me where the heck you bought that mattress because....because..."

You falter at that last part because Dr. Karnstein was grinning and when you stop, she's full on smiling and she's the most beautiful creature you've ever seen on two legs.

"Well then. I'm glad you had enough sleep. It's nearly 6:45, would you like some breakfast, cupcake?" You nod, thinking that you may have to go to a doctor to check and make sure that your skin isn't permanently red.

Though, if you keep having situations like this with Dr. Karnstein, it just might turn red forever. You think you wouldn't mind that so much.

Breakfast was a simple, quiet affair with Dr. Karnstein and you realized that, with Danny, you always had to talk. There was never a moment of silence where you could appreciate the morning sky or a night where you could watch the stars.

"I'll give you a ride to work. No need to waste money on a taxi from here." Dr. Karnstein said as she placed the dishes in the sink. You thank her gratefully.

The ride to work was equally as quiet. It was a welcome change and for once you were relaxed and ready for work.

But maybe not ready for Perry's interrogation. Or Danny's for that matter. But you were ignoring her texts on purpose.

Perry came first. "Laura! Dr. Karnstein never comes in this early in the morning? And she never came in with you before? What happened? Did she do something?"

You shake your head violently, willing Perry to reduce her voice. "Perry, honestly, she's fine. I just needed a place to go because I definitely didn't want to see Danny and Dr. Karnstein offered her guest room for the night."

You definitely weren't going into details.

"Hey, Betty Crocker. If Mattie finds out about this, or Will, you can forget about a job in any hospital within this continent. Got it?" Dr. Karnstein shows up behind you, fist, slammed down on the counter where the sign in pad is. You jump internally but physically, you are unable to move, too caught up in her presence.

Dr. Karnstein returns to her office and slams her door shut.

"Laura, what was that?"

"What?"

"Dr. Karnstein was quite red in the face after saying that. Anyway...you spent the night at Dr. Karnstein's? How was it?"

"She had an amazing guest bedroom. It was so comfy. I definitely need to invest in better mattresses. I'm starting to find the patient beds more comfy than my own bed."

"Maybe it'd be more comfy if there were a Dr. Karnstein in the bed with you?"

Your head shot up at Perry's comment. Your face resembled a ripe tomato again and there was nothing you could do to stop the stammering "it isn't l-l-l...like that tho-though."

Perry smiled "Sure it isn't darling. Now. Lets-"

"Hey Laura, hey Perry." Kirsch's voice breaks through your conversation and you turn your head at the tone. Kirsch seemed significantly less...happy than normal. He wasn't exactly wearing a frown, but he might as well have been.

"Hey, Kirsch...You okay? Did he or she not leave their number or something?" You chuckle at your own joke but Kirsch is not amused.

"I don't have sex all the time, okay? I don't need sex all the time!" Kirsch nearly shouts. His face is a little flushed.

You frown. "Kirsch you literally come in here every morning talking your head off about last night's latest...What happened?"

Kirsch grumbled something but you couldn't hear anything. He looked at you. Then he looked at Perry. Then he looked around the empty Care building. "Oh, fine. I'll tell you."

He took a deep breath and exhaled. "I have feelings for some guy." You grinned.

"That's so good for you Kirsch! Does he feel--" Kirsch cut you off "No. He doesn't. Definitely not. He wouldn't."

Your mouth is slightly agape. "Aw, Kirsch how do you--"

"Morning Nursing Family! How are we today? Hello Wilson, how are you?" Will Luce cuts through all conversation, smiling jovially with a hand on Kirsch's shoulder.

Kirsch's face turns into a ripe tomato. After Dr. Luce signs in, you notice him give Kirsch a squeeze on the shoulder and head into Dr. Karnstein's office.

Kirsch becomes even more miserable. You put two and two together. "Kirsch, it's okay, he might sti--"

Kirsch cuts you off, more sad now than angry "No. He won't. I like sex. He doesn't. That would be a problem. Besides. He told me the last time he was in a relationship was when he was 18."

You're about to speak, but Kirsch smiles weakly at you and heads off to start his shift for the day.

You're in the middle of your shift again attending to Old Wagenstein's back pain when Perry rushes in the patient room.

"Perry, what is i--"

"You should come. Quickly and before Dr. Karnstein sees you."

"Why?"

"Danny's here again. With more flowers. And a guitar."

Your mind is absolutely boggled. You nod at Perry, who disappears again, and finish assigning Old Wagenstein some back exercises and an appointment with Dr. Belmonde before rushing out to the reception area, where sure enough there was Danny.

Who seemed to be arguing with Kirsch and another nurse, Sarah Jane.

"Look man. Laura's going to get in trouble if you keep showing up here. Don't do this. If she broke up with you, let it go." Kirsch was always standing up for you.

Sarah Jane was a little less forceful because she didn't know the details of anything "Well, we can call Laura here first, but this isn't really allowed Miss Lawrence."

Danny snarled at Kirsch "Look, man-child. She didn't break up with me properly and yesterday she said she'd think it over. I love her and I'll get her back."

You stormed over there and pushed Sarah Jane back to her post.

"Danny, I thought abou--"

"Wait, let me sing to you!"

Before you could even say no, Danny started to strum up a country tune. You groaned.

_Seriously? Country?_

But once Danny started singing, others started to notice and there was a lot of "ooing" and "ahhing" much to your chagrin and Perry's too.

You didn't want the patients to be too disappointed so you pretended to play along.

Suddenly, amidst the singing there was a door slam shut.

Oh no.

Dr. Karnstein's door.

Carm saw the whole thing.

Now you felt like crying. You were so confused and upset and Danny just kept making things worse.

Suddenly the soaring headache from the previous day came back to you at full force. You registered Danny singing to get your attention but it was more like background noise compared to Dr. Karnstein slamming the door closed.

Before you could say a word you hear Dr. Belmonde's voice, crisp and clear, her slight Moroccan accent creeping in "Nurse Hollis. I'm sure you know that we have a rule about having a little group time in the lobby. Wouldn't this little...performance be better suited ...oh I'm not sure, _anywhere but here?_ "

The music stopped and somewhat silently, the patients retreated to whatever they were doing before Danny came along.

You gulp, and you open your mouth to beg for forgiveness and god you hope that she won't report you to Dr. Morgan, but instead of noises coming out of your mouth, there's silence.

You feel tears welling up in the back of your eyes and your throat's clogging up and this has got to be the one of the worst weeks of your life.

Before you can even burst with tears, Perry says "Dr. Belmonde, Laura is more of a stickler for rules at Silas Care than you are. And look. The Patients that needed the exercise in the first place were dancing around, happily enjoying Miss Lawrence's music until you came in and stopped them. Weren't you the one that said that we needed to implement an exercise program?"

Dr. Belmonde rounded on Perry ready to give her a piece of her mind with a glint in her eye but Perry didn't let her "And I can vouch for Laura that she didn't even know that Miss Lawrence was coming in today."

Danny mumbled some form of agreement while quietly packing away her guitar. Kirsch stood in silence watching the exchange, his muscled arms crossed, but looking more like a body guard than a nurse.

Belmonde looked at you, rolled her eyes and said "Just because your friends do you favors doesn't mean I'm not going to keep an eye on you Nurse Hollis." She walked away after that, barking an order to one of the interns she happened to come across.

You were still standing, shell shocked about what had just happened. Lola Perry just defended her in front of Matska Belmonde, one of the most cut throat doctors at Silas Care. And Dr. Belmonde didn't even put up much of an argument.

"Laura, darling close your mouth, that's impolite." Perry said before patting you on the shoulder and turning the other way to resume her tasks.

Danny looked up at you with a bit of discomfort in her eyes. You didn't say anything. You weren't sure what to do other than to run and salvage what little you have of this job.

Kirsch spoke with a soft undertone in his voice, the first time you've ever heard him be so serious. "Look Lawrence. Laura works really hard at her job because she believes it's the right thing to do. She wants to take care of these people. She believes they need all the comfort that they require. And while I still have you know, frat boy within my blood or whatever, I know Laura really well. I know that she cared about you. But Lawrence, you're not giving her much of a choice by telling her to choose between you and her life. If you really loved her you'd understand what this place means to her. And you'd understand her."

At this point Danny turned on him, at her full height. "What the hell does that mean, popped collar?"

Kirsch didn't move a millimeter away from where he was. He frowned but this time you answered the question "You brought me roses the other day. I hate roses. They remind me of my mom's hospital room. You sang country today even though I can't stand country music. You keep coming here even though you know I'm going to get in trouble. Danny we've been dating for a long time. You really should know these things."

At that Danny relaxed her fists. She looked at the ground helpless. Then she looked at you. "Roses Schmoses! You can't just break up with me. We need to talk about this. We're having such a big fight over something stupid and you won't even freaking-" Danny's voice was getting higher by the word and you were quite frankly getting annoyed.

"Danny take your stuff and go home. We'll talk at home."

Her face gets red and she sneers "No you'll run away again. I need an answer now before I-"

"I really hope you weren't about to threaten my employee, Miss Lawrence. Either way, even if you weren't going to I think I'm going to have to ban you from the premises. While some patients enjoy country music others do not and while you sang I received a truly large amount of complaints from my patients." Dr. Karnstein was out of her office, her glass cut jaw jutted out and her eyes fiery and fiercely pointed towards Danny Lawrence. Your words died in your throat because you've never seen anything more beautiful in your entire life than this amazing doctor.

" And because Miss Hollis was busy with _you_ I had to get other nurses away from their tasks to fix other problems. Miss Lawrence, I believe I told you and Miss Hollis to leave your personal matters at home. You're not allowed to disturb the patients, whether it is to woo your girlfriend or to charm the pants off of the Goddamn president of America. _The only thing I'm interested in, Gingersnap, is the health of my patients._ If you keep coming in here and disturbing my nurse, I will have a court order banishing you from this facility."

Danny growled at your boss before picking up her guitar case. She was about to turn around and walk out the door when Dr. Karnstein said "If this matter comes into Silas Care again, I'm going to consider it a personal offense and you will have a lot more to deal with than me, Miss Lawrence. Take care."

Dr. Karnstein turns to Kirsch "I'm sorry, is there a reason you're standing there staring at a plant, Kirsch? Or would you like me to spoon feed you some instructions?"

Kirsch grows red but doesn't say a word. Karnstein frowns "Go check on Mr. Yoden and make sure he's taken his pain medication for his knee. Wouldn't want him to get too used to that wheelchair."

Kirsch nods and hurries out the lobby.

You turn to Carmilla and open your mouth to say words but Dr. Karnstein turns away from you and walks back into her office and shuts the door.

You remember Dr. Belmonde's words again and run to check on the rest of your patients.

For the first time in a very long time, you can't wait for your shift to finish.

* * *

 

You were having a late lunch with Mel and Kirsch in the staff Cafeteria when the argument blows up. You knew that Perry was talking to Dr. Belmonde but you thought it was Silas Care related. Suddenly Perry is screaming and LaF is trying to calm her down.

When Perry screams, she really screams.

"YOU CAN'T JUST FORCE A PATIENT TO GO TO A CLOSED SECTION AND FORCE THEM TO HAVE MEDICATION. YOU HAVE TO WORK WITH THEM "

You make a mental note to get a  hearing check next week.

"Nurse, aren't you overreacting a bit, I mean we can't have patients like Mr.Vonhelderstein wandering around the streets can we? I'm only doing the logical thing"

"THE LOGICAL THING? HOW IS THAT LOGICAL. THAT'S A HUMAN BEING, NOT A STUFFED SOCK FOR YOU TO PLAY AROUND WITH"

Maybe you should start investing in a hearing aid at this point.

The normally perfectly socially constructed Dr. Belmonde seems to be flabbergasted "I'm not playing around with anyone. In fact I'm saving Silas Care from a potential law suit. Come on, see it from my side. It's not like I have much choice. Who can really watch him for all the time-"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK ME?"

"You? But you..."

"DON'T. YOU NEVER ASK ME ABOUT ANYTHING ANYWAYS. YOU PROBABLY NEVER WILL"

Kirsch whispers in your ear at this point "Why would Doc Belmonde ask Perry things anyways? She's not much of a doc or anything"

Dr. Belmonde stood up now, and the tension between them was palpable and you were afraid that either Perry was going to burst and slap Belmonde or Belmonde would attack Perry.

You were terrified either way. You tried to sneak a glance at Dr. Karnstein but she was nowhere to be found.

Belmonde looked genuinely confused and suddenly Perry sat down again. Belmonde sat down with Perry again, seemingly trying to wrap her head around the situation.

You didn't blame the doctor. So were you.

Perry spoke again, but this time in a broken, sad voice rather than the 'Perry voice' that you were accustomed to "You never asked me if...you just kind of...you...we did all those things and you said ...those...you had said that...and I...but you never...and it just kind of died of...and I...but yo--"

You've never been so shell shocked in your entire life. If you weren't already pinching yourself to make sure you weren't dreaming you'd pinch yourself again. Dr. Belmonde was _kissing_ Perry. On the mouth. In a public setting.

You were pretty sure that your jaw was traveling along the Nile again with Kirsch's jaw for company. Now there were some quiet murmurs around the staff Cafeteria.

Suddenly, the strong voice of Will Luce came across the Cafeteria "While we'd all love to watch Dr. Belmonde and her nurse make out noisily in here, I believe this is something that they require a tad bit of privacy for. And I know for a fact that most of you have been here for more than your allotted break time. So if you don't mind, let's all get back to our posts, shall we? This certainly has been an interesting day."

You spared one last glance at Perry and Dr. Belmonde and noticed that Dr. Belmonde had paid no attention to anyone around her except Perry and Perry was grinning happily, _more happy than you've ever seen her._

With a jolt you realized that, that was how Perry managed to keep Dr. Belmonde off your back this morning. Determined to not waste that favor, you dragged Kirsch and walked to your next shift with him in tow.

* * *

5 days later:

You hadn't actually broken up with Danny yet. You knew that you had some issues to work out, and you yourself weren't really sure what you were looking for. After all, this was Danny Lawrence and you were in love with her for a long time. You can't just not deal with a fight.

But you weren't staying at home either. Perry had offered you her guest bedroom and you had been holing up there watching Perry's cat whenever Dr. Belmonde wanted to take Perry out for Dinner.

You sighed, rubbing the bridge of your nose. Two weeks ago, everything was easy. You were in love with Danny. Silas Care was a place you loved and you respected the hell out  of Dr. Karnstein.

And now what? You can't even look her in the eye properly. Hell, she won't even look at you properly. In meetings, she stopped addressing you and started to talk to Perry and the interning nurses more.

Tasks got assigned to you by her through others. Your headache hasn't cleared in the last few days and it only seems to be getting worse.

You were currently adjusting Dr. Karnstein's schedule and Dr. Luce's schedule so that they would both be checking Mr. Schmidt's spinal cord at the same time 3 days from now.

You sadly looked at the calendar. Dr. Morgan's retirement party was coming up in a week and you hadn't spoken to Car – Dr. Karnstein since the morning of your stay. It seemed that she had been going out of her way to avoid you. She got Dr. Luce and Kirsch to ask you for tasks and such.

You sighed sadly again.

"Aww, now come on Hollis. Can't have our favorite nurse sighing so much" Dr. Luce's smiling face came in from the Operation room, coffee cup in hand.

You gave him a tired smile. He returned it but then leaned in close.

"Hey, Laura I need you to do a favor for me."

You looked up at him, and nodded. He bit his lip and looked both ways, as if he was about to tell you a big secret.

"I need to know what the deal is with HR and co-working relationships. I mean, everyone knows about Mattie and Perry, and they're official. But...do you know...the deal?"

You look a little baffled before explaining to him the situation with declaring a relationship.

When you finish, he looks a little relieved. He whispers "Well, I'm going to declare one. Can you do me a favor and do it for me without telling Carmilla?"

You nod silently.

"Will?" You hear Kirsch's voice from the other side of lobby. Will turns to him and gives him a thumbs up.

Will nods to you and walks away, taking his coffee cup and heading towards Kirsch.

When you lean forward out of your seat to get a better glimpse of them, you notice them holding hands.

You smile to yourself as you keep Will's file on top of the rest of your documents.

You're about to get back to work on the schedules when you hear a raspy, low voice call out to you.

Dr. Karnstein.

She hasn't spoken to you in a week.

You turn your head too fast. This time you may have actually gotten whiplash. "Yes, Dr. Karnstein? Can I help you?"

Dr. Karnstein looks at you for no more than half a second before saying "I need to see you in my office at 9 pm."

You nod.

She turns around, picks up a pad and starts on her nightly rounds around Silas Care. You note that doctors never need to do the rounds. Dr. Belmonde and Dr. Luce never do them unless Carmilla tells them to walk the rounds.

Carmilla walks the rounds every day.

Danny always texted you during rounds because she never thought they were important.

Carmilla lets you fight your own battles.

Danny always jumped in to fight your battles for you.

Carmilla is vegetarian.

Danny always tried to slip in a piece of beef into your food _as a prank_ even though she knew that you were vegan.

Your head was hurting with the comparisons.

You just wanted to go home, or rather to Perry's place and take a long nap. Preferably  for a week. Or longer.

"Laura, I'm going to head home now to Mattie's tonight, alright? You have the place for yourself. You know where the spare key is, right?" Perry's voice traveled through the darkening reception area where you were sitting and organizing patient files and checking and updating data.

You nod and wave Perry away. You needed a few more hours to finish updating Mr. Schmidt's file and then you wanted to check on Mr. Lugenbaron's hip replacement and the medication. You had noticed that while his medication had been steady, his moods had been swinging quite a bit.

Oh. Dr. Karnstein.

You shoot your head up at the clock to see that it was 8:58 pm. You quickly save all of the files on the staff computer before knocking on Dr. Karnstein's office door.

"Come in, Laura"

For some reason, you liked Dr. Karnstein's office better than you liked the other offices. She had some paintings up and a rug and it made the office feel a little more homely.

Dr. Karnstein wasn't working when you walked in. She was sitting on her chair, leather clad legs up on her desk with her arms crossed over her chest.

You smile awkwardly and politely.

She bites her lip before speaking "I apologize for the way I've been acting lately. It's not professional of me to make one of my nurses a more personal matter. That being said, I'd like to speak in an informal manner about this now."

You nod, unable to speak.

Carmilla closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I...wasn't going to talk to you about this but I...I couldn't stay away and I had to know and...I just..."

You can't help but tease her despite the tension in the room "I'm pretty sure rambling is my habit Dr. Karnstein."

Suddenly that beautiful smile is back and you're at a loss for words. She's so breathtaking that you can barely breathe properly.

"I thought I told you to call me Carmilla, creampuff"

You internally growled at yourself when you felt your skin turn hot and you knew you resembled the color of tomato juice.

Carmilla became serious again before speaking "That night at my place was sincerely one of the best nights of my life. I don't really have much company, Laura. Silas Care is my life. But I really like you"

You couldn't tell which heartbeat was louder. You couldn't tell which heartbeat was yours. After a few seconds you couldn't tell that there was another heartbeat in the room.

Dr. Carmilla Karnstein, the most beautiful, angelic woman you've ever seen in your short life just admitted to you that she likes you.

You're sitting in front of her like a gaping fish. Suddenly an idea, a vision goes through your head. You and Carm holding hands. You kissing her again and again as many times as you want. You and Carm doing the nightly rounds together.

You _falling in love_ with Dr. Karnstein.

You could see yourself falling in love with her.

You couldn't help the smile on your face, which in turn made Dr. Karnstein smile shyly as well.

But...

You whispered softly afraid to break the angelic smile on her face "I haven't broken up with Danny."

She closes her eyes again and nods and leans back.

You feel the need to explain yourself "It's just that we've been dating for a long time and it's not...I'm sorry...I just..."

"How many times has this happened?"

"Has what happened, Carm?"

"Has this? The fighting, the annoyances, the singing, the whole repetition."

You're slightly flabbergasted "Uh, I'm not really sure"

She sighed "It happens once a month, at least. The fact that you don't know, the fact that it's a part of your normal life isn't really good for any relationship, you know"

You bunch your face up "How do you know it happens once a month?"

She squints one eye open "It's my hospital, darling, I know all. I especially know it when Danny Lawrence tries to sing you some god-awful country song and you're flinching through every verse of it."

You say nothing.

She stands up and walks toward her window and leans against it "So how come?"

"How come what?"

"How come she gets a new chance every month and I...I get none?"

She's managed to floor you once again.

Carm turns on you. "She doesn't know you at all. It's like you guys got stuck on the second date for the past few years."

You bite your lip "What, and you do?"

Carmilla walks towards you and leans in, placing one hand on the arm of the chair you were sitting on and looks straight into your eyes.

"I know that you have a soft spot for Mrs. Mitchell because she reminds you of your mother. You spend your breaks there sometimes. I know that you eat butter scotch cookies like meals because you feel like it's still a piece of your dad's baking even though he's 10 hours away. I know that you lie to me when you say that you only work through your shifts and go home. I am well aware that you take over Kirsch's shift and Sarah Jane's shifts many times because you want to be doubly sure that everyone is okay. I know that whenever Perry or LaF is feeling sad about something you go way out of your way to cheer them up. I know that you hate roses because they remind you of pity, not because they remind you of your mom's death bed. I know that you hate country music because it just sounds awful. I also know that you have a habit of listening to Fur Elise on repeat whenever you're feeling sad or lost or missing your mom."

She takes a breath.

No one has ever paid attention to you that much before. It's astounding. It's exciting. It makes you want to hug Carmilla and never let her go.

You place your palms gingerly on her shoulders before whispering "Danny didn't even remember my mom died until a year ago."

Suddenly the feeling from those five days ago was back and your mind was sent reeling. Carmilla was kissing you, she was kissing you and you tried to have the common sense to wrap your arms around her neck, but your brain was too fried to comprehend anything but Carmilla.

Her ticklish hair of brown-black locks dancing around your face, the softness of her lips on yours and the lightness of the trails her fingers were making up and down your sides.

She broke off the kiss because air was a thing you needed.

Damn the flaws of being human.

She pulled you till you were standing and let her forehead connect with your temple. "Please give me a chance. Please Laura. Please."

You kissed her temple and took a moment to look at her. She looked as if she was about to break down into pieces. You knew what you had to do.

You texted Danny what you needed to text her, which was pretty short before bringing Carmilla back into you for a kiss because you've already gone for a whole minute without kissing her and you're not sure you could take that much distance just yet.

"You know...I haven't had dinner yet, Carm"

"That's not good. You need dinner"

"That's what I was thinking. I'm pretty sure you haven't had dinner either"

"That's right. I haven't"

She kisses you again and you almost lose your track of thought.

"So I was thinking..." Another kiss.

"Mmhmm?"

"Dinner's like a thing people do, right?"

Another kiss.

"Is it?"

Another kiss.

"Maybe we should have some sustenance?"

Another Kiss.

"Oh?"

Another Kiss.

"Or you know, we could always have food later."

Another Kiss.

"Much later."

You hear and feel a rumble  mid kiss.

Carmilla pulls away and lets out a laugh "You're all red again, creampuff"

You think it might be more permanent. You don't mind. Red's a good color on you anyways.

**Author's Note:**

> A thing where Carm's a doc and Laura's a nurse and because I wanted to not study.


End file.
